Tom Clonan (Independent)
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I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House. I am seeking a statement from him on Department of Education Circular 0038/2007. The circular applies to primary school children who have a specific speech and language disorder. I raise this matter because the circular, which dates from 2007, needs to be updated. It is 16 years old. It consists of three paragraphs. The introductory paragraph sets out the criteria for admission to a special class and states that the child must satisfy the diagnostic criteria for this specific speech and language disorder. The third paragraph provides more detail on the criteria for enrolment. All those criteria are set out in evidence. In other words, these are areas that have undergone international peer-reviewed research into persons who have a specific speech and language disorder. The second paragraph, however, states, "Eligible pupils may spend up to two years in such classes." In other words, young boys or girls, whose needs are not being met elsewhere in the community, by the way, find their way into a special class where they begin to blossom but then, for an arbitrary, idiosyncratic and capricious reason, their time in that class is capped at two years. This is causing unnecessary suffering among children, parents and families. What intrigues and angers me about this is that it is literally the stroke of a pen. Some civil servant in the Department of Education, with no qualification in these areas and without reference to any research of evidence, capped their attendance at two years.

I have an example of this in practice. I have been approached by a family who are distraught. Their son, Harry, is attending one of these classes. He matches all the criteria and has a specific speech and language disorder. He attends St. Kevin's National School in Greystones. This young boy has blossomed in that class in the past two years. He is thriving. He is facing the prospect, however, of having that wonderful experience terminated in June this year simply because of this piece of paper.I might add that the capitation grant is €785. That is what we are talking about here. I ask the Minister of State and Minister to take that line out so that principals and boards of management can keep these children in the environment where they are thriving.

In a previous life, before I joined the Army or became a lecturer and then a Senator, I was a primary school teacher. All of our educational philosophy is child-centred. The Department of Education reiterates repeatedly through its documentation that it places the child, and the child's needs, front and centre. I am asking that this arbitrary cap of two years be removed. To amend a circular will take a civil servant, I would say, approximately six minutes, or even less, to find the file and do it, but it would make a huge difference in the lives of children like Harry. I ask the Minister of State specifically if we can revisit this case and give young Harry Ryan the opportunity he needs to fully self-actualise as a participant and citizen. Ireland has a very bad record; it is the worst country in the European Union in which to have a disability. We can do something meaningful here. We can actually intervene here at a cost of €785 to change things dramatically for this child and his family.

Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator Clonan. Before the Minister of State replies, I welcome the students from Kilcoole Primary School, County Wicklow, who are in the Gallery. I hope they have an interesting and educational day in Leinster House.

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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On behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Josepha Madigan, I thank Senator Clonan for raising a very important issue. I stress that it is absolutely vital that every child and young person with special educational needs is fully supported in the education sector, whether this be in mainstream education or in a special class or special school. Significant investment and reforms have been made to ensure this is the case.

A priority for this Government is to ensure that all children have an appropriate school placement and necessary supports are provided for our schools to cater for children with special educational needs. This year, the Department of Education will spend in excess of €2.6 billion, or over 27% of the Department's budget, on providing additional teaching and care supports for children with special educational needs. For the first time ever, we have over 19,000 teachers working in the area of special education, and over 20,000 special needs assistants. Together, we have almost 40,000 qualified and committed people in our schools who are focused wholly and exclusively on supporting children with special educational needs.

The children will undoubtedly benefit, as is right and proper, from the additional focus these resources will bring to their education. Primary and post-primary schools make provision for pupils' special education needs through a continuum of interventions, ranging from additional teaching supports in mainstream schools to placement in a special class or, in some cases, enrolment in a special school. Schools are provided with the resources through the special education teacher allocation model to assist them in meeting the needs of their students, including those with language difficulties. Schools are required to target their additional resources at those students requiring the greatest levels of support. These supports ensure that the vast majority of our children with additional needs are supported to attend mainstream classes with their peers.

Specialist provision for children with specific speech and language disorder, SSLD, is available at primary level. This is based on the principle of early intervention. These classes are designed to provide a time-limited, targeted intervention for children with severe impairments in their skills of understanding and expressing themselves through spoken language. Pupils who attend special classes for children with SSLD return to mainstream provision following the two-year intervention and they can avail of further supports from schools' special education teachers. These classes are set up in agreement with HSE speech and language services and students attending these classes receive speech and language therapy in school. As such, the specialist intervention is not intended to support all children with less complex speech and language needs as these needs should be met through or other school or community-based language interventions.The intensive support provided by speech and language therapists, working in collaboration with teachers in SSLD classes over a two-year period aims to equip children with the necessary speech and language skills to transition back to their mainstream class, with their peers. SSLD classes are at the higher end of the scale of interventions to support children and are in line with practice in many other countries. The level of provision in SSLD classes over this two-year period has been found to be of a high standard in various Department of Education inspectorate evaluations. The Department of Education has also introduced the school inclusion model to enhance the capacity of all teachers to meet the language needs of pupils. This model is running on a pilot basis, and lessons learned will inform plans to scale up provision in this area.

Tom Clonan (Independent)
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I appreciate that the Minister of State has not heard my four-minute contribution until this morning. However, I know that he has heard me. As parents and carers in Ireland we are confronted with a situation where progressing disabilities in the community has failed. I received an on the record statement to that effect from the former CEO of the HSE, Mr. Paul Reid. For children like Harry, this is their only opportunity to blossom, develop and grow. I am asking the Minister of State to please change that one cruel and capricious line, which states that their attendance in these classes is capped at two years. As the Minister of State has highlighted we are talking about €785 per annum, per child, out of a budget of €2 billion. This is, as George Lee used to say, a no brainer. This is an easy win for the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan. Can I please receive a commitment or an answer on that? Would they be prepared to change that arbitrary and cruel provision?

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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I again thank the Senator for raising this important issue and providing the opportunity to reassure the House that the Department of Education is committed to ensuring that all children can access an education suitable to their needs. I acknowledge the excellent work done in our schools with, for and by students. There are significant challenges, and we all know and accept that. All of those who work in our supporting special schools and special classes see these challenges daily. The Government is committed to continuing to work with these schools and communities and make sure they are supported in this vital work. The Senator has raised the example of a pupil named Harry Ryan, who is a constituent of his. I would be happy for him to send the details of that particular individual to me. I will forward them to the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, who has direct responsibility in this matter.